The present invention relates generally to telecommunication equipment and, more particularly, to a security cover for a telephone line installation backboard which prevents unauthorized access to telephone communication line terminals disposed on the backboard.
As is well known, telecommunication, i.e. telephone lines, are typically supplied throughout geographical areas through main telephone lines provided by authorized telephone utility companies which extend either above or below ground surface. Typically, such main telephone lines are branched or routed to individual structures and/or dwellings by way of distribution lines which extend from the main lines to a service entrance of the structure. The service entrance typically includes a mounting plate conventionally known as a backboard comprising a metal plate which is mounted to an electrically insulating supporting surface of the structure. The backplate mounts one or more wiring harness blocks for packages which include multiple pin terminals which facilitate individual pairs of telephone lines from the distribution line to be selectively connected or interfaced to corresponding pairs of lines routed through the structure and extending to individual telephone headset and/or communication stations.
Although such conventional prior art backboards have proved to be reliable and effective in their intended purpose, they possess inherent deficiencies which especially since divestiture of American Telephone and Telegraph, have detracted from their overall effectiveness in the trade.
Foremost of these deficiencies has been the inability of the prior art backboard systems to prevent unauthorized personnel from tampering with the telephone lines connected to the backboard. Although prior to divestiture, primarily only American Telephone and Telegraph personnel had access to such backboards, currently all private phone company personnel and, in many instances, the general public have free access to the backboards. Such unrestricted access often permits tampering with the phone lines during installation and/or repair of the phone line which oftentimes results in loss of telephone service to the structure.
Further, since typically all of the telephone line pairs of a structure are presented at the backboard, all lines may be easily monitored by unauthorized personnel at the backboard, thereby causing the backboard to be an extremely security vulnerable site for unauthorized monitoring and surveillance of telephone conversations and data transmissions.
Although these tampering and security deficiencies could be reduced by building a security vault about the backboard or disposing the backboards in a security room, such security vaults and rooms are extremely costly and further, in retrofit applications typically require the line connections to the backboard to be disturbed or removed from the backboard to facilitate remounting within the vault or room thereby resulting in temporary loss of communications to the structure.
Thus, there exists a substantial need in the art for a means for providing security to existing telephone backboards which is relatively low cost and permits rapid retrofitting of existing backboards without disturbing telephone line communications.